


Rabbit's Foot

by Impala_Chick



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Big Brothers, Brother Feels, Canon Compliant, Gen, McCall Pack, Pack Building, Superstition, Werewolf Bites, Werewolf Senses, Werewolf Turning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-22
Updated: 2016-05-22
Packaged: 2018-06-10 01:35:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6932539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Impala_Chick/pseuds/Impala_Chick
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Isaac holds onto something from his past, struggles as part of Derek's pack, and then decides to join Scott's.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rabbit's Foot

**Author's Note:**

> I tried something new with this... written for the Fandomweekly prompt "superstition".

Isaac has a rabbit’s foot that he keeps in his jacket pocket. He knows it’s childish and silly. He also knows that Derek knows, because a rabbit’s foot doesn’t exactly have the best smell. Isaac is grateful that Derek has never brought it up, because he’s not sure how he would explain it.

The only reason he keeps it is because his brother Camden gave it to him, way before he deployed. They were both so young then. Their Dad had always been a drunk and had been physical with both of them before. Camden was the one who could stand up to Dad, and beg for him to stop when he hit Isaac. Isaac could never get any words out when his Dad felt the need to punish. Isaac now thought that the Rabbit’s foot was a way for Camden to lend Isaac some strength.

Camden hadn’t said anything in particular about the foot when he handed it over to Isaac, but he did wait until their dad went to sleep to give it to him.

“Don’t worry, Isaac. It’s not from a real rabbit,” Camden had whispered in the dark, while the pair of them huddled under a blanket fort in Isaac’s room.

“Then why is it special?” Isaac had asked as he turned it over and over in his hand.

“It just is,” was all Camden said in response.

Isaac likes to believe it holds good luck, the kind that Camden should have used while he was fighting in the Middle East. But Camden chose to leave all the luck for Isaac.

At school, Isaac reaches into his pocket and fingers the soft fur often. Sometimes he does it when other kids glare at him in the cafeteria. Or when a pop quiz gets handed out. Or when Derek pulls him out of school for a pack meeting.

Sometimes, Isaac leaves it at Derek’s place under the mattress Derek set up for him. When he knows they are going on a particularly risky training mission, he’s afraid that is pants will rip and he will lose his rabbit’s foot in Beacon Hills Preserve. Or worse, someone or something would try to take it from him.

Isaac gets curious whenever he sees Stiles, Allison, and Kira rally around Scott. It’s like Scott is the sun and the rest of his pack just falls into orbit around him. They trust him, support him, and even dare to challenge his opinions. It’s a much different dynamic than that of Derek’s pack. A day hasn’t gone by where Isaac doesn’t catch one of Scott’s pack reach out for him and physically touch him.

When Isaac sees that happen, he reaches for his rabbit’s foot. He’s not sure why, but he feels like his own pack is missing something.

On a whim, Isaac looks up information about his rabbit’s foot in the library. The magic contained within a Rabbit’s Foot can only be captured if the Rabbit is killed during a full moon, in a cemetery. And it has to be a rabbit’s left foot that is cut off.

The Rabbit’s Foot is supposed to protect him from curses.

Isaac holds it in his pocket, and wonders if it’s possible that his Rabbit’s Foot brought him the bite. Isaac has always been thankful for the bite, ever since it was offered and he eagerly accepted. The bite changed his life and transformed him in every way. It gave him power and popularity and strength. But he still keeps his Rabbit’s Foot. Maybe old habits die hard.

Derek has never explained why he chose Isaac first. He’s never explained why he was out at the cemetery that night, watching Isaac. Isaac supposed that Derek could smell Isaac’s despair and loneliness. Or maybe Isaac reminded Derek of himself. Either way, Isaac did not feel grateful for Derek. He appreciated the bite and treasured it, but his Alpha left much to be desired. He didn’t communicate enough. He didn’t explain anything. He expected his pack to unequivocally respect his authority at all costs. In that regard, Derek reminded Isaac of his Dad.

Isaac keeps Derek and the bite separate; just as he had always kept his Dad separate from the violence. These things were separate because to Isaac, one could exist without the other. Isaac could have been given the bite from anyone; he could have been given the bite from Scott. And other people could have hit him besides his Dad. And neither violence nor the bite is a curse.  
Isaac is warded against curses.

He walks to Deaton’s animal clinic, knowing that Scott will be there after school to start his shift. He fingers his Rabbit’s Foot on the way. He thinks about how Scott reminds him a little bit of Camden. And he thinks about how Scott doesn’t need a lucky charm.

Isaac realizes that luck comes from strength, and that’s what Camden was trying to say the whole time.

And Isaac could use more strength.


End file.
